President: I am not going to squeeze the land reform out of the Verkhovna Rada, but I ask you to adopt at least a political decision in its favor

President Petro Poroshenko urged the people’s deputies to adopt a decision that would destroy the phobia of land reform, take into account all the cautions, install fuses, protect peasants and form transparent rules of the land market.

The Head of State reminded that the EBRD had recently made a rating of success of the reforms in Central Europe and Asia where among thirty countries Ukraine occupied the 20thposition next to Georgia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. “The result would have been better, if the majority of what we’ve made in the last 3 years had been implemented in the previous 23 years. The top 10 is those who have made the majority of reforms already in the 90th. The leaders are Estonia, Poland and Slovakia. That is why I listen to the opinion of Leszek Balcerowicz, my advisor, and the Prime Minister is consulted by Ivan Mikloš, former government member of Slovakia. These are true reformers who really helped us with their experience instead of being engaged in social demagogy and chapiteau in Ukraine,” the Head of State emphasized.

According to him, Estonia conducted privatization of everything: port, telecommunications, aviation and even railways. In Poland, 41 state-owned enterprises are left among 8.5 thousand. “By the way, foreigners didn’t buy up their land even though local residents can easily buy or sell agricultural land,” he added.

At the same time, Ukrainians are deprived of this right. “Millions of people formally own land, but someone decided that they cannot manage it and introduced a completely unconstitutional moratorium. Why do we then allow people to sell apartments? Someone can also buy them up,” the President said.

The Head of State noted that as statesman, he has to take into account public opinion. “Unfortunately, it was formed by populists. I am not going to squeeze the land reform out of the Verkhovna Rada, but I ask you to adopt at least a political decision in its favor and tell the date of the launch,” the President noted.

“The land market and privatization are not what the President asks for. The land market and privatization are the two fastest and most reliable ways to quickly attract a decent volume of investments in Ukraine. Not only investors say so. I am confident that it is a common position of the world,” the Head of State emphasized.